Remotely controllable lock set



Feb. 2, 1965 w. w. CLEMENTS "$167,942 A REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE LOCK SET Filed July 24, 1961 I 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 2, 1965 w. w. CLEMENTS 3,167,942

REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE LOCK SET 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 24, 1961 FIG. 3

FIG. 4

Feb. 2, 1965 w. w. CLEMENTS 3,167,942

REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE LOCK SET Filed July 24, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 45 \i I 76 33 2o FIG. 5

........ fll4 Feb. 2, 1965 w. w. CLEMENTS 3,

REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE LOCK SET Filed July 24, 1961 e Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb. 2, 1965 w. w. CLEMENTS 3,167,942

REMOTELY CONTRQLLABLE LOCK SET 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed July 24, 1961 FIG. 9

FIG.

United States Patent 3,167,941 REMQTELY (IQNTEOLLAELE LQCK SET Warner W. Clements, Los Angeles, Calif. (13435 .lava Drive, Beverly Hills, Calif.) Filed July 24, 1961, Ser. No. 126,823 9 filaims. Cl. "iii-148) My invention relates to closure locks whichare to some extent controllable both by local manual means and by remote electrical means. In order to avoid generalities I shall speak hereinafter in terms of the principal application of my invention, which is its application to doors of the type permitting human entry into rooms and buildings. I consider that there exist other applications which are reasonably equivalent, but the reader of this disclosure will be taught the use or" my invention in such other useful applications without their specific mention.

It is an object of the invention to provide a lock set which offers controllability from remote points, via electrical connections, while largely retaining the features of operation, and the appearance when installed, of conventional manual lock sets.

It is a further object to provide such a lock set in which the necessary electrically powered locking actuator is embodied in a surprisingly small unit which mounts in the jamb (or equivalent closure framing), thus providing for convenient installation and obviating the need for flexible electrical wiring to the door (or equivalent closure).

It is a further object to provide such a lock set in which the power requirements for the actuator are so modest that the accessory wiring involved in the installation may be of the light-duty type not normally requiring conduit or similar fire protection.

It is a further object to provide such a lock set in which that construction which permits the attainment of the other objects is, withal, a simple, economical, and reliable one.

Other objects and advantages will be made evident by the subsequent disclosure herein.

My invention calls for the use of an auxiliary bolt, which I shall term the feeler bolt. This bolt is adapted to cooperate with a movable part to be mounted in the door jamb, which latter part I shall call the feeler engager. The feeler engager is, in turn, arranged to be shifted into either of two positions, as desired, by a remotely controllable electromechanical actuator. (Since this actuator will almost certainly run according to magnetic, rather than electrostatic, principles, I shall call it the electromagnetic actuator.) According to which of its two positions the feeler engager is shifted into by the actuator, the associated door (when closed) will or will not be openable by means of its outside knob.

Up to this point, the description might seem to fit a construction obviously derivable from the prior art, in particular from the teachings of Patent No. 1,270,468 to Voight, dated June 25, 1918. However, the real novelty of the present invention lies beyond this point.

The central inventive thought resides in three interrelated concepts. The first concept is that the travel permitted to the jamb-mounted feeler engager should not be in the same directions as that of the feeler bolt with which it is to cooperate, but rather should be a sideways travel relative thereto; In other words, according to my concept the feeler engager should not push the feeler bolt in and out, but should move in from one side into the path of said feeler bolt to intercept the latter when required. The engager may be arranged either to slide or to pivot. Either way, it can be seen that when the engager is moved into the path or" the feeler bolt,

3,167,942 Patented Feb. 2, 1965 and the latter then moves out from the door to contact it, any impact or steady pressure resulting can be directed exclusively to the mountings of the engager. Thus, there need be no tendency to displace the engager toward its disengaged position.

The second central concept is that the feeler bolt should not be normally extended (or biased toward extension, as is its'equivalent in the Voight patent), but should be normally retracted at least part way and should be extended only when an attempt is made to open the door manually. Such an attempt should result in an initial extension of the feeler bolt, provisionally followed by a full retraction of both the feeler bolt and the usual principal bolt, the so-called latch bolt. In other words, the normal position of the feeler bolt will be one wherein it is held well clear of the engager in the jamb, whether or not the latter has been electrically actuated into lock position. The signal to lock or not lock the outside knob will be transmitted to the mechanism within the door proper only when said knob is actually tried. Upon such trial the feeler bolt will try to extend full length as a preliminary to retracting along with the latch bolt. Whether or not the turning of the outside knob is permitted to effect the completion of this sequence will depend upon whether or not the feeler bolt ispermitted to extend to the desired length. The latter contingency, in turn, is to be resolved by whether or not the feeler engager in the jamb is in intercepting position.

There are notable advantages to lock mechanism arranged according to this concept. For one thing, the work necessary to move the feeler bolt back-and-forth is performed by the person turning a knob or key and hence need not be performed by the electromagnetic actuator. For another thing, the feeler engager, when .it' is shifted by the actuator, can move in either direction without striking (or even touching) the feeler bolt member it is designed to cooperate with.

I have yet to specify whether it is the intercept or the non-intercept position of the feeler engager'which should effectively lock the outside knob. I shall hereinafter designate the intercept position, that position in which the engager is contacted by the feeler bolt when the latter is motivated to extend, as that position which is to produce the locking effect. I shall do so because the choice produces certain minor advantages. However, it should be appreciated that the alternate choice can also result in a workable device and is a clear and obvious equivalent.

The actual locking effect that prevents the outer knob from retracting the latch bolt in the scheme of my invention is produced by a dog. The dog is connected to the feeler bolt and is moved by the latter in such a way that if the extension of the feeler bolt is blocked short of a specified point approximating full extension, then the retraction of the main latch bolt will be dogged so thatsaid retraction cannot take place in response to (further) rotation of the outside knob.

It is my third concept that dogging this action should not be applied to the latch bolt, nor even to a sole retractor member connected to said latch bolt; Rather, the dogging action should be applied to somepart (including possibly the knob itself) which moves in response to the outside knob, but which does not move in response to a key turned in the lock, nor in response to other manual actuators, such as the inside knob. Such a point for dogging must exist in any lock mechanism in which the various manual actuators can be operated independently. One might say that my scheme is to interrupt motion originating in the outer knob before it joins forces with motion originating in the lock actuator and possibly elsewhere. It happens that the conventional night lock on simple, non-remotely controlled lock sets is arranged to dog only the action of the outer knob, as I have just specified. But is it far from obvious that that same thing can, or should, be done in the case of a remotely controlled lock where the control actuator is located in the jarnb, not in the door. In the lattercase it would at first appear more logical to directly dog that movable part which directly communicates with the jamb, namely, the latch bolt itself.

'The importance of this third concept, in combination with the other two, is that its application permits a door to be opened from the outside with a'key or from the inside with a knob whether or not the door is electrically locked. It also permits the key'to be turned freely even when a strong twist is simultaneously applied to an inefi ective outside knob.

Illustrative embodiment The embodiment I have chosen for exemplary purposes is one admirably suited for instructing the reader on how to carry out my invention. However, as to whether it is the best means 'from the readers standpoint will depend upon circumstances beyond my control. For instance, some lock sets are built mostly of sheet metal stampings, while other lock sets are built mostly of die castings; The choice in a given instance will depend not so much upon the locking principles to be embodied as upon the machinery and other resources available to the builder; The embodiment I shall described is designed to have its central latch unit fabricated mostly of die-cast parts. The reader skilled in the art will appreciate that 'an embodiment designed to use mostly stampings would have quite a different appearance.

Furthermore, the invention-to be illustrated is broader than most others in the same crowded'art, and is so less concerned with design details. Many specific arrangements and, indeed, combinations of arrangements could be chosen that would embody the central inventive thought. But the description of a single complete design is a lengthy matter and it would not seem indicated to burden the'record with more than one such description.

Finally, much of my description will necessarily be devoted to details of design that have nothing to do with the invention proper, but which are included in the interest of completeness. For all these reasons it should be clearly understood that my invention is not limited to the specific arrangements and details of the illustrativeembodiment, but is defined instead by the claims read in the light of the complete disclosure, with particular reference to that part under the previous heading.

Drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing of some of the principal components of the knob assembly.

FIG. 2 is a plan view taken in a central horizontal sectioning plane of the knob assembly mounted in a door. The latch assembly, which would normally be mounted at the same time, is not shown.

FIG. 3 is'an elevation, taken from the face end, of the latch assembly. 7

' FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective of the latch assembly. Springs are omitted and pivot pin 71 is shown broken away to reveal the detail behind it.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view in elevation taken in the plane indica'ted in'FIG. 3 by line 5-5. In order to show the inner construction of dog assembly 63, the parts in the region'o-f this assembly are shown as sectioned somewhat behind the generalsectioning plane of the figure. FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are similar in aspect to FIG. 5. However, the latter figures are somewhat diagrammatic in that the assembly housing has been omitted, along with background detail, and other parts are shown variously broken away. The tip of cam 38, which is all of that part which lies beyond the sectioning plane, is'o-mitted in order to show that cam 35 behind it is a separate part.

' FIG. 5 shows all movable parts in their quiescent positions.

, FIG. 6 showsthe positioning of movable parts when the outside knob has been rotated to a slight degree, and no obstacle has hindered the extension of feeler bolt 57.

FIG. 7 shows the effect of continuing to turn the outside knob under the circumstances of FIG. 6. Parts are shown in their extreme positions as the result of outside knob cam 33 being rotated clockwise as far as it will go.

PEG. 8 depicts a different situation from the two prior drawings. It shows the parts in the positions they will take if the outer knob is tried under the circumstances wherein feeler bolt 57 is blocked just short of full extension.

FIG. 9 is a plan view in horizontal section of the jamb unit. Movable parts are shown as they would appear in lock position, but the alternate or dont lock position of feeler engager 88 is shown in dashed lines. The tips of the two bolts belonging to the latch unit also appear in this drawing, said bolts being shown in quiescent position.

FIG. 10 is an elevation of the jamb unit mounted in a door jamb. The door stop 78 is broken away to reveal detail beneath.

Construction of knob assembly The knob assembly is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This assembly includes the usual inside knob and outside knob, with the lockmount ed in the latter, and is adapted to the usual mounting in a hole drilled through the door. In the particular design shown the two escutcheons furnish the principal support for other components. The outside escutcheon 15 is provided with two integral yokes 16, which in turn have holes tapped to respectively receive screws 17 inserted through inside escutcheon 18. The door 19 is thus clamped tightly between the two escutcheons, which latter comprise bearings and supports for the two knobs. The outside knob 20 is constructed with an opening 21 through its shaft and inner face. This opening serves to admit the driver housing 22 of the cylinder lock 23 in the course of assembly. A knob trim cylinder 24 serves to conceal the opening and also bears against escutcheon 15 to resist inward thrust of knob 20. The knob'assembly is held in the escutcheon by snap ring 25. Inside knob 26 is similarly held in inside escutcheon 18 by snap ring 27.

Cylinder lock 23 is supported at its outer end by virtue of its insertion through the conventionally provided hole in the knob. Atits inner end it is supported by cylinder 28, which in turn is supported by having its rigid tab- 29 aflixed in recess 30 in escutcheon 15 A somewhat unconventional feature of the design shown is that the, cylinder look as a whole does not rotate with the outer knob. Splines 31 on the cylinder lock housing fit into corresponding internal notches or keyways 32 on support 28 to prevent such rotation. Meanwhile, the body of knob 210 is free of interior obstruction and roomy enough to clear driver housing 22" throughout its normal rotation. This arrangement has certain advantages, but is a purely optional design feature having nothing to do with the invention proper. The latter can be as well served by an arrangement in which the lock rotates with the outside knob. i

As is conventional, three separate means for camming the bolt retractor are used, one each for the outside knob, the inside knob, and the lock actuator. In the prior art these means take a great many forms. Many, if not most, of such-prior art camming means could be adapted to serve the purposes of the present invention. For illustrative purposes I have chosen the simple and reliable arrangement utilizing directly acting integral sector cams. Outside knob cam 33 is permanently swaged in the shaft of its knob by means of gripping extensions 34. This cam incorporates a dog receptacle 37, which has the form of an elongated opening. As will be explained, the dog which cooperates with this receptacle is round in lateral cross section. The elongation of the opening is necessary in order to allow for alignment in doors of varying thicknesses.

The actuator of the lock shown is its extra-long plug 36. If it were a wafer lock, or some other kind, instead of a pin-tumbler lock, its actuating element might have a different appearance from that shown. Whatever the type, it could, of course, serve the purposes of the invention. Lock cam is affixed to the actuator shown by means of a snap clip.

Inside knob cam 33 is loosely fit in notches or gripping splines in the shaft of knob 26 so that it may be adjusted lengthwise to just clear opposing cam 35. When the adjustment has been made, the positioning of the cam is made permanent by tightening set screw 3?. (This adjustment is necessary because of the differing thicknesses of doors.)

Pin is provided with a fiange and screw at one end and a screw slot (or a hex) at the other end. It thus serves as a means for fastening lock support 28 to escutcheon 15. But it also serves as an alignment means, as will be clear from the following: In the course of a normal installation procedure, the latch assembly (later to be described) will be in place in the door before the knob assembly is installed. With screws 17 removed, the outer escutcheon and the parts assembled to it are inserted from the outside of the door, Upper and lower yokes 16 will just clear the top and bottom, respectively, of the latch housing, thus providing vertical alignment. Meanwhile, pin 40 will have been inserted through a hole provided for it in the same latch housing, thus adding lateral and rotational alignment. When the installation is completed by adjusting cam 38 and installing the inside knob assembly with the aid of screws 17, the alignment of the affected assemblies cannot fail to be satisfactory.

The knob assembly as a whole can be installed either in the position shown in the drawings or inverted from that position. Thus, the same assembly will serve despite which way any given door is to swing, or on which side it is to be hinged. It may be necessary to invert the lock in the outside knob. This is readily accomplished by removing only two fasteners, pin 46 and lock washer 25.

Latch assembly construction The construction of the latch assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 8. The housing for this assembly is made in two pieces, the housing body 44 and the housing end 45. The housing body is provided with a flange 48 whose purpose is to accommodate hole 43. The hole, in turn, serves to receive pin 40 and thus provide alignment for the knob assembly, as previously explained. An interior feature cast into the housing body is abutment 49. The latter is pierced longitudinally (with regard to the assembly) by a hole 50. The abutment is also proivded with two integral pins 51. The exterior of the housing body is shown indented into the interior of the abutment for the purpose of conserving metal.

The housing end 45 includes the usual rectangular face portion Which accommodates the mounting screw holes. It also includes two extensions 46 which are shaped to fit tightly in the interior of the housing body upon assembly. The two housing parts can be joined by any conventional means, such as by peening the body into slight depressions provided in the end for that purpose. An excellent, modern means for joining the two parts is by cementing them.

Due to its vertical height the bolt housing used in the illustrative embodiment would not conveniently fit into a single hole drilled in from the edge of the door. However, it is designed to fit into two holes drilled close together to form a figure-eight-shaped opening. The two holes 47 are shown in dashed outline in FIG. 3. The rectangular portion of the housing end must be set in a shallow mortise in the door edge, as is conventional, and screwed in place.

Besides serving to connect the two portions of the housing, extensions 46 also serve a second purpose: They serve as ways, providing upper and lower support for latch bolt 53. Flanges 54 on the bolt limit its outward travel by engaging the ends of extensions 46. Side support for the latch bolt is supplied by the inner sides of housing body 44. Note that the deepest side support is provided for the side of the bolt on which the bevel is located. This ensures against cocking of the latch bolt when the door is slammed, even though said bolt may be loosely fitted. The latch bolt is biased toward extended position by two relative strong springs 55 which fit in bottomed holes 56 and over the pins 51 already mentioned.

The latch bolt is provided with a channel 69, rectangular in cross section, which extends completely through it longitudinally. In this channel the feeler bolt 57 is mounted with a loose fit to be slidable longitudinally. The feeler bolt is biased toward a retracted (inward) position by a single, relatively soft spring 58 mounted in bottomed hole 59 in the latch bolt and over pin 60 on downward extension 61 of the feeler bolt.

integrally connected to the feeler bolt is a dog assembly indicated generally at 63. The shaft 64 of the latter assembly is drive-fit, staked, or otherwise affixed to the innermost end of the feeler bolt. The dog proper 65 is of a tubular construction. An inner compression spring 66 pushes between the inward end of the cavity within the dog and the broadened head 67 of the shaft. The dog is thus biased toward the center of the door. A flange 6S limits its maximum travel in that direction, by bearing against abutment 49 in whose hole 50 the dog slides. Spring 66 is wound of'wire that is'quite fine in proportion to the diameter of the spring. It is thus a very soft spring and will stand compression to a small fraction of its extended length.

Note that the latch bolt has a narrowed body portion. The narrowing of this portion makes room for a lever 70 pivotally mounted on the bolt itself by means of integral pivot pin 71. In assembly, the lever is mounted after the feeler bolt and spring, with the long (lower) end of the lever engaging portion 61 of the feeler bolt. Thus, clockwise rotation of the lever will extend the feeler bolt. The surface of the feeler bolt extension 61 which engages the lever constitutes what is usually called a cumming surface. (I have called part 70 a lever rather than a cam because of thedisparatelengths of its two ends, or arms, and also because of the need to distinguish it from other parts.)

The largest interior component of the bolt assembly is retractor 74. This part matches, in its exterior cross section, the interior of the housing body and so slides freely lengthwise therein. It is generally channel-shaped, having the form of parallel upper and lower bars, with an integral side web connecting the two bars over a portion of their length. The bar portions are narrowed at their outward ends to clear the narrowed portions of extensions 46 from the housing end. These'adjacentparts have complementary shapes so that the housing end extensions provide side support for the retractor at one end, while also serving to limit its outward travel. The bars of the retractor terminate at their inward ends in two hooks 75. When components are installed in a door, all three of earns 33, 35, and 38 will be in position to engage the camming surfaces on the inner" side of the hooks. Rotation of any cam in either direction will move the retractor to the observers right. The travel of the retractor is terminated at that point where it strikes the end of the housing body as in'FIG. 7.

At the left end of the upper bar of the retractor is another hook 76. The inner camming surface of this latter hook is in position, after assembly of the unit, to engage the upper end of lever 70.

Like the knob unit, the latch unit may be mounted inverted from the position shown. The reader will understand that references hercin to upper and -lower apply only to the positions held in the views depictedin the drawings.

Construction of jamb assembly The components to be mounted in the door jamb are illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. For illustrative purposes it is assumed that they are mounted in a doorway framed in wood, in a frame building with plaster walls. (One skilled in the art will readily be able to adapt the design to other forms of building construction.) The jamb assembly of the lock set, as shown, is designed to be mounted prior to the aflixing of the door stop 78. In preparation for the mounting no deep mortising is required, but two holes must be drilled at respective positions determined by where the latch bolt strikes the jamb. First, a hole 79 is drilled through the door frame proper. Then a second and smaller hole 80 is drilled, in the opening created by the first hole, through the studding 77 adjacent the door opening.

The jamb unit is designed to be supported by the striker plate 81 to receive which a shallow mortise is cut in the usual fashion. Prior to inserting the unit in the drilled holes and mortise, a connection would normally be made between wire leads 84 and wires running out of'the wall through hole 80. The unit would then be screwed in placewith screws through the striker plate. The wall holes, as shown, are large enough to allow for minor adjustments to the positioning of the unit.

The internal components are mounted to each other and to the striker plate by means of a stamped metal shell 82. In a cylindrical extension of this shell is mounted the electromagnetic actuator 83; It is assumed that in the illustrative actuator there are internal means for positioning the shaft 85 in either of two positions: the position of FIG. 9, which is the retracted one, or a second position in which the shaft is extended slightly farther to the right. It is further assumed that electrical signals transmitted to the actuator through wire leads 84 from a remote location will cause the shaft to shift from either position to the other at the will of a user at the remote control point where the signals originate. (Just how the electromagnetic actuator produces the required :action has no. direct relation to the present invention. Various internal mechanisms might be employed, some of them requiring three electrical connections instead of the two shown. An excellent mechanism that will produce the particular action required in the illustrative embodiment is described in my Patent No. 2,972,091, issued Feb. 14, 1961.)

A lever 86 is mounted by a pivot pin at one end to a flat internal surface of shell 82, leaving the other end free to swing parallel to. the sectioning plane of FIG. 9. A clip spring 87 has its two ends bent straight away from the observer (same .figure) and inserted respectively through holes in lever and shell. The ends'of the spring are maintained under spreading tension, so that the lever is biased to stay in contact with the end of the actuator shaft. (The spring might preferably be mounted beneath the lever, but is shown atop it for the sake of clarity.) The samev spring can also serve to return the shaft to its retracted position from its extended position when the actuator usedis of a type that pushes but doesnt pull.

The feeler engager is shown at 88. In the present instance it has the form of an L-shaped member pivoted at itscorner bymeans of a pivot pin and bracket mounted. on the. supporting shell 82. The feeler engageris coupled by a simple pin-and-clevis arrangement to lever 86. Thus, the. outward stroke of actuator shaft 85 will push the lever to the right, and the lever, in turn, will cause the feeler engager to rotate clockwise to the position ,of the latter shown in dashed outline. I

Possible refinements of construction The reader skilled in the art will note that no dead latch mechanism has been described. Such mechanism will take place.

was not included in the illustrative embodiment because it would have added complication and tended to obscure constructions more closely related to the invention. However, one who would apply the invention is advised that there. is ample room, within the latch assembly of the illustrative embodiment, to add a dead-latch mechanism with its additional sensor bolt. The latter bolt would preferably be mounted higher or lower on the side of the latch bolt than its conventional position. The lever 70 can readily be harnessed to perform the additional function of un-dogging the dead latch.

In the lock art it is common to cover exposed parts that may be made of inexpensive metals with thin veneers of sheet brass or bronze; this, for the sake of appearance. Such arrangements can readily be designed by persons with ordinary skills and no attempt has been made to include such arrangements in the illustrative embodiment.

For application to steel doors and for use in factories and elsewhere where appearance is not a consideration, it might be desirable to mount lock sets utilizing my invention on the inside faces of door and jamb, rather than in theinnards of same. Special instruction to this end would not seem to be required; any changes in the mechanism to accommodate the changed mounting would be fairly superficial and obvious.

Although the lock set of the illustrative embodiment permits a door to be opened manually in either of two different ways, only by electrical means can the door be fixedly locked or unlocked to one who would enter from the outside without a key. To provide such means right at the door (on the inside), one of the remote control points can be located beside the doorway. The cost of such a control point is very small, involving only an in expensive switch, a few inches of wire, and, optionally, a pilot light.

If, however, it were desired to incorporate manual means for achieving the same end, the only necessary addition to the mechanism would be an extra knob, toggle, or button linked in one way or another to the feeler bolt or dog assembly. Suitable constructions will occur to one skilled in the art and need not be listed and described here.

It is possible to arrange for pilot lights at each remote control point to indicate positively whether or not the controlled door is both closed and locked.

Operation The sole job of the electromagnetic actuator in the door jamb is to shift one little partthe feeler engager-either .way between two positions. While the shift is being made the feeler engager neither moves nor even touches the feeler bolt. This holds true despite variations in door-tojamb spacing that might tend to bring the tips of both bolts deeper into the opening in the striker plate. In order to prevent any contact between bolt and engager (in the absence of manual actuation of a knob or key), dimensions are made; such that the latch housing end, or face, will actually scrape the striker plate before such contact (The situation of FIG. 9 represents a fairly tight fit between door and jamb.)

It may be anticipated that contact between the feeler bolt in the door and the feeler engager in the jamb must be allowed at some point in the operation, in order that the mechanical information that the outer knob is, or is not, to be allowed to open the door can be transmitted. The actual arrangement is such that the indicated contact can take place only when the engager 88 is in its lock position, which is the one shown in solid lines in FIG. 9.

When, on the other hand, the engager is in its unlock position, shown in dashed outline, there can be no communication at any time between feeler bolt and engager, as the latter is positioned where the former cannot reach it. The operation of the latch unit under these latter circumstances will now be described.

Assume that the outside knob is turned by one who would enter from the exterior of the affected room or building. It can be seen from FIG. that no matter which way the knob is turned its attached cam 33 will bear on a camming surface of retractor 74 and urge the latter part toward the observers right. (By reference to projecting parts or to the door as a whole this direction can be taken as inward.) The retractor will in turn exert an inward pull on the top of lever 70. The pull on the top, or the short end, of the lever will tend to rotate the lever around its pivot, thus extending the feeler bolt, and will simultaneously tend to retract the latch bolt because of the inward pressure transmitted to pivot pin 71. The relative strengths of springs 55 and 58 are such that the feeler bolt will make the first move, to its position of FIG. 6.

As the feeler bolt moves outward, it carries shaft 64 with it. After a degree of lost motion the head 67 of the shaft encounters the end of the interior of the tubular dog 65 and thenceforth carries the dog with it toward the observers left. The motion of the dog carries it out of dog receptacle 37 in cam 33. The receptacle is just enough oversize, with regard to the dog, to avoid dogging of the cam during the small initial rotation of the latter that is necessary to effect the movement of the dog. The motion of the dog to the observers left can be termed a retracting or disengaging movement, since its effect is to free the cam for further rotation.

With further turning of the knob, cam 33 goes on toward its position of FIG. 7. But in so doing it cannot produce any further rotation of lever 70 as extension 61 is already, in the situation of FIG. 6, tight against the thick portion of the latch bolt. So the latch bolt itself is forced to move, against the-stiff pressure of springs 55, and carries the feeler bolt along with it.

The net action of the feeler bolt thus amounts to an extension to full length, followed by complete retraction. The retracting phase of its action carries it even further inward than it was in its initial, quiescent position. But dog 65 cannot be returned to its respective initial position, or beyond, on the return trip because by the time it gets back to knob cam 33, the latter has turned so far that dog receptacle 37 is no longer accessible to the dog. During further retraction of the bolts the dog merely bears against the smooth surface of the cam and has no effect on the action. Spring 66 meanwhile absorbs the thrust of shaft 64. The rotation of the knob is only halted when the retractor strikes the inner end of the housing, as in FIG. 7 At this point both bolts are fully retracted and the door may readily be swung open.

When the outside knob is released all movable parts will spring back into their positions of FIG. 5, thus completing the sequence. When the door is opened by the other available means, namely the inside knob or the lock actuator, the sequence is similar except that it doesnt matter whether or not the dog is retracted from the receptacle in the outside knob cam.

Thus far, the operation has been described under the assumption that the feeler engager is off to one side in unlock position. Let it next be assumed that said engager is in the lock position, whence it has been shifted by the appropriate electrical signal. As is apparent from FIG. 9, the engager will, under the new circumstances, be in position to block the feeler bolt at some pointshort of the full extension of the latter. Exactly how much extension will be permitted to the'feeler bolt before it strikes the engager will depend upon the closeness of fit between door and jamb; The purpose of the lost motion permitted to the feeler bolt before it actually starts to retract the dog will now be apparent: The dog will not be retracted if the feeler bolt is blocked early or late in the process of extension, just so long as it is blocked'before the lost motion is used up. In this manner the operation of the mechanism is rendered immune, within reasonable limits, to the effects of a variable gap between door and jamb.

FIG. 8 shows the situation wherein the outside knob has been turned as far as it can go. Although a quite loose door fit is represented in the drawing, i.e., feeler engager 88 is near the outer limit of its practicable distance from the latch assembly, nevertheless dog 65 has not been budged from its extended or engaged position. Cam 33 is blocked from further rotation because the play in dog receptacle 37 has been exhausted and the side of the receptacle now bears against the dog. In other words, the outer knob cannot be further turned.

With the feeler bolt blocked from extension, the entire pull exerted by retractor 74 on the short end of lever 70 is, of course, directed toward retracting the latch bolt proper. But before the latter member can be moved an appreciable distance the pull is terminated because the outer knob has reached the maximum rotation (only a few degrees) that the dog in the cam will permit it. Consequently, the door cannot be opened.

However, nothing in the impasse just described will prevent the retractor 74 from being moved further to the right by other means. If either the lock actuator cam 35 or the inside knob cam 38 is rotated, the retractor will be cammed and retractor and bolts will be moved to their positions of FIG. 7. If a twist is meanwhile maintained on the outside knob, cam 33 will maintain its position of FIG. 8 while the affected camming surface of retractor 74 moves away from it. No matter how hard the twist, it cannot interfere with the opening of the door by the other means.

So much for the operation under lock condition. Whether lock or unlock, and whether or not the key or either knob is simultaneously actuated, the door may always be slammed closed from an open position. This is so because nothing in the operation interferes at any time with the ability of the latch bolt to retract as its bevel meets the striker plate. If the dog is, for any reason, unable to extend asthe latch bolt carries the feeler bolt inward, then spring 66 will absorb the movement of the dog shaft, as it does in the situation of FIG. 7.

One possible operating situation remains to be mentioned. Let it be supposed that one person is just starting to turn a knob or the key in the lock at the precise instant at which another user at a remote control point signals to change the condition from lock to unlock, or vice versa. It is possible, under such circumstances, that the feeler bolt could interfere with the desired shift of the feeler engager. Such a happening would be rare and in any event no damage would be done. The worst that could happen would be for the signalled change to fail to take place. If pilot lights were employed, the user at the remote location would be instantly notified of the failure and would merely have to operate his control switch-the second time.

Some definitions By lock set I mean the totality of the lock components which are delivered to the installing mechanic or carpenter for installation at a given door. The term is usually used to embrace the striker plate and in the case of the present invention will naturally embrace the additional jamb-mounting components as well.

In using the word knob I mean to include such constructions as levers, toggles, and wing bolts where the latter are used as gripping points for the manual actuation of locks. Members of the general public are in the habit of calling all such equivalents knobs, so the term would seem to be generic enough.

In applying the term electromagnetic actuator, I do not mean to limit myself to linear actuators. I fully contemplate that actuators working in rotary or other modes may be employed in constructions according to my invention.

I use the word coupled as generic to connected.

I use the adjective interior to indicate communication with the interior.

What I claim is:

1. In a lock set of the type which includes mating assemblies mountable in or on respectively a door and a door jamb: I

a door-mounting feeler bolt normally mantained in a position retracted from full operational extension;

21 jarnb-mounting feeler engager shiftable into or out of the path taken by the tip of said feeler bolt as the latter is operationally extended;

remotely controllable means for shifting said feeler engager;

a door-mounting latch bolt normally maintained in a position of full operational extension;

key-actuated means for retracting said latch bolt;

knob-actuated means for sequentially extending the feeler bolt and retracting together'saidfeeler bolt and the latch bolt;

and dogging means for arresting-the latch-bolt-retracting action of said knob-actuated means at such times as the feeler bolt encounters the feeler engager.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the feeler engager is mounted for motion substantially sidewise to that of the feeler bolt.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further including a second knob-actuated means for retracting said latch bolt.

4. In a lock set of the type which includes mating assemblies mountable in or on respectively a door and a door jamb:

a door-mounting retractible latch boltmounted in normally non-retracted position; 7

a door-mounting extendable feeler bolt mounted in normally non-extended position;

a door-mounting rotatable outside knob;

means responsive to the outside knob for first extending the feeler bolt as said knob is turned and then retracting both the latch bolt and said' feeler bolt as said knob is further turned;

jamb-mounting means for electively engaging the feeler bolt as it is extended;

and door-mounting means responsive to the positioning of the feeler bolt for electively arresting the latchbolt-retracting action of the outside knob in accordance with the state of engagement of said feeler bolt.

5. In the door-mounting portion of a lock set:

a retractible latch bolt mounted in normally nonretracted position; 7

an extendable feeler bolt mounted in normally nonextended position;

a rotatable outside knob;

means responsive to the outside knob for first extending the feeler bolt as said knob is turnedandthen retracting both the latch bolt and said feeler bolt as saidknob is further turned;

and dogging means for arresting theflatch-bolt retracting action of said previously: named means whenever the feeler bolt is externally blocked from extending to a predetermined point.

6. In the door-mounting components of a lock set:

inside-knob camming-means;

lock-actuator camming-means;

outside-knob camming-means,

ceptacle;

retractor means arranged to be responsive to any of said three listed camming-means;

an outwardly biased latch bolt internally equipped with a longitudinal guide channel;

a feeler bolt mounted to slide within the guide channel of the latch bolt and to be biased inwardly with regard to said latch bolt;

a lever having a long end and a short end, said lever being pivotally mounted to the latch bolt and having its short end in engagement with the retractor means including a dog reand its long end in engagement with the feeler bolt;

and a dog resiliently connected to the feeler bolt and arranged to be movable in a rigidmount so as to extend into or retract out of the dog receptacle on 12 the outside-knob camming-means, whereby said camming means is either dogged or undogged, according to the positioning of the feeler bolt, for rotation beyond a given degree.

7. A latch unit, including:

a housing having a longitudinal dimension;

an outwardly biased latch bolt mounted for longitudinal travel in and partially out of an end of the housing, said latch bolt internally including a longitudinal guide channel;

a lever pivotally mounted on said latch bolt for rotation about a substantially lateral axis, said lever having a long end and' a short end;

a feeler bolt mounted to slide within the guide channel of the latch bolt and to be'biased inwardly with regard to the latter, said feeler bolt having a camming surface at its inner end arranged in engagement with the long end of the lever;

a retractor arranged to slide longitudinally within the aforesaid housing, said retractor including near one end a camming surface .in substantial engagementwith the short end of the lever and further including near its other end at least one feature adapted to cooperate with actuating means extraneous to the unit'claimed; and dogging means movably mounted on the housing and resiliently connected to the feeler bolt in such a manner that as said feeler bolt is fully extended the engageable portion of said dogging means is caused to make a retracting or disengaging movement. 8. In the door-mounting portion of a lock set: a retractible latch bolt mounted in normally extended position; i an extendable feeler bolt mounted in normally retracted position; a rotatable inside knob; a rotatable outside knob; a lock including an actuator rotatable by means of a y; means responsive alternatively. to the rotation of either the inside knob, the outside knob, or the lock actuatorfor first extending the feeler bolt with the start of rotation and then retracting both thelatch bolt and said feeler bolt upon further rotation; and means for arresting the rotation of the outer knob whenever the feeler bolt is externally restrained from extending beyond a predetermined point. 9. For use in a remotely controllable lock set of a type whose operation involves the insertion of a movable bolt mounted onla door or the like into a receptacle provided on a jamb, the jamb-mountable unit comprising:

framing structure providing an exterior opening and a space interior thereof, the opening and space constituting the receptacle for receiving the bolt; a feeler engager; means for movably mounting said feeler engager to ,said framing structure for motion 9f the engaging surface ofvsaid engager intoand out of the interior space of the bolt receptacle at an angle substantially sideways to the motion of an entering bolt; and an electromagnetic actuator mounted to said framing structure with the movable element of said actuator coupled to said feeler engager for selectively shifting the engaging surface thereof into and out of the interior of the bolt receptacle to provide 0ptional interception of a bolt thrust inward in the receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,219,132 Hohmann et al. Oct. 22, 1940 

5. IN THE DOOR-MOUNTING PORTION OF A LOCK SET: A RETRACTIBLE LATCH BOLT MOUNTED IN NORMALLY NONRETRACTED POSITION; AN EXTENDABLE FEELER BOLT MOUNTED IN NORMALLY NONEXTENDED POSITION; A ROTATABLE OUTSIDE KNOB; MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE OUTSIDE KNOB FOR FIRST EXTENDING THE FEELER BOLT AS SAID KNOB IS TURNED AND THEN RETRACTING BOTH OF THE LATCH BOLT AND SAID FEELER BOLT AD SAID KNOB IS FURTHER TURNED; AND DOGGING MEANS FOR ARRESTING THE LATCH-BOLT-RETRACTING ACTION OF SAID PREVIOUSLY NAMED MEANS WHENEVER THE FEELER BOLT IS EXTERNALLY BLOCKED FROM EXTENDING TO A PREDETERMINED POINT. 